(Reuters) – Airbnb said on Tuesday it has acquired GamePlanner.AI, a 12-person startup, for an undisclosed sum, amid rapid adoption of artificial intelligence that has taken the tech world by storm and pushed many companies to explore its uses.
GamePlanner.AI was co-founded by Adam Cheyer, who was also one of the founders of Apple’s voice assistant Siri.
The startup will add to Airbnb’s existing set of AI technologies that include large language models, computer vision models and machine learning.
“AI will rapidly alter our world more than any other technology in our lifetime,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said in the statement.
CNBC, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the deal is valued at just under $200 million.
Airbnb declined to share any additional details of the deal.
Other travel companies, including Booking.com and Expedia have also made efforts to integrate AI to their existing technologies in an attempt to enhance customer-booking experiences and create more suitable itineraries and suggestions.
(Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
